I - Dawn of a New War
by Tigerdovefan34
Summary: The Reapers were supposed to be the biggest threat the Galaxy had ever seen. They won, peace for all time, right? Sadly no, as a threat from beyond the Milky Way threatens everything Sheppard and the crew of the Normandy knew...and loved
1. Prologue

**July 5th, 2192**

**Scott, Terra Nova, Asgard System, Exodus Cluster, Earth Systems Alliance Space**

On the garden world known as Terra Nova, in its capital of Scott, was a rather tall building with a vantage point of the entire city and the horizon itself. It was tall, probably 120 meters tall and on the roof sat a man, smoking on a blunt very calmly and a Quarian woman, her face mask off and her hood down, allowing herself to soak in the true beauty of the view and the warmth of the sun on her alien skin, her silver eyes softly reflecting it off. She turned to the man as he watched the horizon, taking in the sheer beauty of it all. "Humphrey, you seriously can't be considering-" She silenced herself as he raised a finger, a simple motion telling her to hush. He took in another smoke of his blunt and then looked at the Quarian calmly.

"Loni, we don't really have any other choice. From the reports I'm getting from the edges of Citadel Space and the Terminus Systems, it seems like something big is going to happen. Something worse than the reapers. Something that won't be as easily defeated." Humphrey shook his head, took in one last smoke, and then threw his blunt away. "He is simply the best choice we got."

"But he's been retired for six years. And he made a promise with his wife, both agreeing to never fight in the military ever again." Her german accent was showing signs of irritation as Loni sighed in exasperation. "How are we going to convince him to join us? We can't exactly force him."

"You're right, dear. We can't." The man looked at Loni, his green eyes taking in the quarian lovingly. "All we can do is simply talk to him and see if he would do it. After all, he is the hero we need. The hero the Galaxy needs. We can give him just enough info to make him think. The rest is up to him." Humphrey stood up from his chair and took Loni's hands in his and staring deeply into her eyes. "If it makes the Galaxy safe for you, then it'll be worth doing everything I can."

"I know, but-"

"Also he owes us." He paused as his wife stared at him in confusion.

"What?" She raised a brow.

"Remember when his wife had cancer?"

"Yeah, it was news all over the extranet for days and you couldn't go anywhere without people praying for her wellness." She stared deeply into her husband's face, trying to read his expression. "Why?"

"We were the ones who not only paid for her surgery and recovery. We were the ones who did the surgery, found the tumor very early and warned her only a few days after she got it." Humphrey smirked as his wife's mouth formed an 'O' in surprise. "Once her finds that out, he'll have an incentive as he'll want to repay his and his wife's debt to us."

"Always the brilliant bosh'tet, aren't you?" She gave him a peck on the lips. She tasted of cherry, relatively normal for quarians, he heard. Humphrey smirked and shrugged his shoulders

"I try. Now c'mon, let's go inside. I'll try to contact him soon."

* * *

**July 9th, 2192**

**Pamyat System, Hades Nexus, Attican Traverse**

Admiral Tertius Florilin, captain of the dreadnaught THS Indomitable and leader of a rather large turian fleet, sighed in exasperation. His fleet had been sent here to investigate the recent disappearances of trade vessels in the Traverse. The council had determined that something was up and ordered him here. He clicked his mandibles. It's probably nothing but pirates, a normal danger in the traverse, considering it bordered the dangerous Terminus System. It didn't need this big of a retaliation. He turned to his lieutenant, a young female by the name of Allia Elvonis, expecting some news. "Anything on the scanners, Lieutenant?"

"Nothing except the planets and any rogue asteroids, sir." She watched the window suspiciously. "It's quiet sir...too quiet. Something's up."

"It's probably pirates, Allia. Not really much else." He growled a little. "We could be home, continuing to rebuild in the aftermath of the spirits damned Reaper War." All opened her mouth but Florilin cut her off. "Yes, I know that everything is practically rebuilt by now but there are still some places that are in need of help. Every person is needed in those. Sadly, it seems Councillors Korris and Oracle are too stubborn to see the big picture." He was, of course, speaking of the Quarian and Geth Councillors. Zaal'Koris had been a hero for the Quarian Civilians in their reclamation of Rannoch, convincing them that making a run for it was far, far too risky and keeping them as safe as he could. He had also proven himself to be one of the best soldiers and councillors in Galactic history. Same could be said for Oracle, who was the first Geth to officially welcome the Quarians home to Rannoch. They also had the support of the Human Councillor Steven Hackett, who was truly the most influential figure in the council right now. Spirits, since when did Humanity decide what was best for the galaxy?

"To be fair to the two of them," Allia began, "This system is close to the veil. Better safe than sorry, right?" That caused the admiral to sigh somberly.

"Yes, All. I know. It's just-" A sudden alarm cut him off and he stared off to his pilots. "What's going on?!"

"Something is coming into signal range, sir!" One of the pilots said. "It's large!"

"Well, get every possible gun trained on it."

"Right away!" Just when things seemed to be getting boring. A few minutes wait yielded what the 'something' that was coming into range was. It was indeed massive. Much larger than any ship the council, the terminus systems, and hell, even the reapers had. It was likely 8 kilometers in length and it was triangular with two pairs of wings going forward and backward. It was quite menacing to say the least. The admiral steeled his nerves and began to speak.

"Unidentified ship, you are in citadel space! Disable your engines and allow us to board you. We promise you that no harm will come to your crew if you surrender peacefully." Silence followed his order and for a brief few seconds, Florilin believed that a battle wouldn't happen. That was dashed as, seconds later, several orange beams trailed out from the unidentified ship and hit several ships in his fleet. All of the ships exploded upon being hit by the beam, causing the Indomitable to shake from the shockwaves. '_Spirits, what have I gotten us into?_' he thought was somber. He had a slight feeling that no one was getting out of this alive.

"Sir, that was half the fleet! Orders?!"

"Blast them to hell! I want that ship destroyed! For anyone on communications, see if you can't send out a distress signal! We need all available aid now!" The admiral barked and the turian fleet, or rather what remained of it, opened fire, hitting the vessel in front of them with everything they got. All their shots hit the ship and exploded on impact and for a few brief seconds, Florilin thought that the hostile vessel had been dealt with. That was, until, the ship floated into view, not even a single scratch on its shields.

"Primus!" He heard Allia gasp beside him. "That was a full barrage from the fleet! Nothing in this galaxy could've survived something like that."

That was the understatement. Not even a reaper could survive such damage and considering that the galaxy was upgrading using reaper technology, it would've been even more impossible. However, the ship was right there, without even a dent. "Sire, its cannons are starting up." An engineer warned and Florilin only had one thing on his mind now : Run!

"Order all crew members into escape pods for every ship! Now!" As the ship fired, he could only hope the message was sent out. He knew that the fleet would be destroyed now. He could only one of his own could make it out to tell the tale and warn the galaxy as the dreadnought was hit full blast on the bridge by the unidentified craft's cannon.

* * *

_In the year 2186, the Galaxy fought the largest war it had even seen against the Reapers, an ancient synthetic race bent on the destruction of all organic life. It had been won, but a high cost, with billions dead and sextillions of credits in damage._

_It has been six years since then and the galaxy faces a threat no one has ever known and no one could even imagine and the man who saved the Galaxy thrice before, Commander John Shepard of the Systems Alliance, has been missing from public life._

_He is the Galaxy's only hope and he doesn't know it._


	2. Call to Arms

**Thanks for the First Review, Guest. When I'm writing the next chapter, I might give you a few paragraphs of it as a sneak peak. Anyways, no it isn't the necrons, as it's not a WH 40K crossover (never even played WH before) but it is something from another Galaxy...no, not Andromeda. Think bigger and farther away.**

**Second Review, thank you Jim. Make an account and I might send you 2-3 paragraphs of the next chapter. In fact, leave a review for each chapter within its first 48 hours, I will enter your accounts into a raffle and the three chosen will be able to read a segment of the next chapter (Different segments each) of 3-4 Paragraphs each...as long as you don't say any spoilers to anyone else. Hope that helps with reviews.**

**Anyways, enjoy everyone!**

* * *

**July 11th, 2192**

**A few miles outside of Neema, Rannoch, Tikkun System, Perseus Veil**

On the planet of Rannoch, meaning Walled Garden in Khelish, all was peaceful and all was quiet, especially in the planet's capital of Neema. The buildings that had been erected in the years following the reclamation of Rannoch were tall but not too tall and all around were houses were the various quarians lived with their Geth protectors. The planet's satellite shining brightly in the night sky and the little animals on the dextro-amino acid planet scampering about or sleeping in burrows. Soft winds blew across the desert planet and give it a cool feeling.

A few miles outside of Neema was a brick house. This was sturdy and looked much like the human brick mansions of their 19th century. It was quite large, having several windows and at least two floors. Two balconies on both the back and front end of the mansion, several greenhouses where levo based plants where grown, and finally a great view of the ocean in the backyard. Inside the house was a much more intricate design. The interior was a mixture of Red, Purple, and Black and was, to simply put it, beautiful In the halls of the mansion were several geth platforms, serving as guards for its inhabitants. On the second floor, in one of the bedrooms, lay a human and a quarian, both with no clothes on.

The human was none other than former Citadel spectre and Human Systems Alliance N7 Commander John Fitzgerald Shepard. He was a simple looking man, with several faded scars across the back and chest and he had grown a bit in age, a few signs of stress being the graying hair despite the man being in his late 30s at this point in his life. Beside him was his wife, the former Quarian admiral, Tali'Zorah, or rather, Tali'Shepard, judging by the ring on her left index finger. The quarian had soft purple-ish gray skin that felt like silk when touched, like how all quarians felt like. She had brilliant raven black hair that flowed to her shoulders and her body's frame was nice, feminine, small, and petite. Finally, there were the several tattoos all over her body, normal for quarians as they were born with them but the most prominent of them was the one near her rear end. It's a pretty bird made of rainbows that is flying out of the eyehole of a skull being held in the mouth of a thresher maw with a naked woman holding a sword on its back.

All in all, the two were peaceful, cuddling with one another, though was was more awake then the other. As Tali softly snoozed, John briefly rubbed his hand over her stomach, feeling the soft skin and the few remnants of stitches there. He briefly took in a deep breath and held her closer. It had only been 3 years since she had recovered from that damn cancer thanks to the help of some anonymous donors and her own strength. Tali was so strong and he made sure to always remind her of that. Continuously thinkingly selflessly for most of her life, Tali was now deserving to be selfish, spending every one of her waking moments with the love of her life. Damned what Admirals Xen and Gerrel said. Damned what anyone thought. Her cancer had convinced her to make every moment count. Had convinced the both of them of that. It was a major reason why Shepard had finally ended his military service.

He made sure that every moment was spent with Tali, for every second could be their last together. He also felt her stomach to feel the little bump there. He had no idea how, but Mordin, just before he died, had been able to create a genetic treatment that allowed for Dextro and Levo-Amino Acid based organisms to cross breed and have offspring and currently, Tali was pregnant with their first one, which would be a quarian. One of Mordin's side effect in the treatment was the treatment would make the offspring the species of the Mother with a few traits of the father. Only a few weeks into the pregnancy, but Quarian pregnancies lasted for 5 months, developing quickly in the mother's womb. Far faster than a human. They also both knew the gender. A male. If he could ever make it to the afterlife, he would have to thank him. For everything. The salarian had been the smartest person Shepard had ever known and, even in death, had given Shepard the chance for something he thought he would never have : a family.

Then he stared at her face. No longer obstructed by any mask and her body no longer needing the suit to live thanks to the geth. He couldn't thank them enough for making the Quarians' immune system as strong as Humanity's in just a few years. When he had been in the crucible, forced to make one of three choices between controlling the Reapers as a new AI, combining Synthetics and Organics into the pinnacle of Evolution, or destroy all synthetics in order to destroy the Reapers. He had picked the third option and believed he had doomed EDI and the Geth to destruction with the Reapers. Thankfully, however, that wasn't the case. EDI and the Geth had shut themselves down briefly upon realizing that something was going to happen and later reactivated themselves once all Reapers were destroyed. A saving grace for them.

Now he could appreciate the beauty of Tali every day, with her unhindered by the potential of a cold or simple flu killing her. That was what made her happiest. He heard her give a brief snore and groan. "Mmmm, Shepard." She moaned unconsciously, her russian accent making him shudder. It was sultry and sexy without ever intending to be at times. "You're the best." She gave a brief chuckle before continuing in her sleep. Shepard had to smile at her cuteness, something that was almost every day with his favorite quarian. He gently rubbed his hand, which was trapped around her, across her back, enjoying the silky feeling his wife's skin had. They had had a great night together before falling asleep, their sex being a major staple in their marriage. He had also found a fun fact about her many, many times in their sexual escapades over the years. She was a screamer. Not normal screams, either. No, these were full on lust screams that reverberated throughout the entire mansion the two had as their own personal home, made with the help of the Geth and Quarians as well as Turians, Batarians, Krogan, Salarian, Asari, and other humans as a thanks for defeating the Reapers. Back to Tali being a screamer, many a time had their Geth guards ran up after Tali had climaxed to ask if anything was wrong.

That would always cause Tali to blush in embarrassment and throw a pillow at the geth the first few times they did so (She did the same thing and even punched him softly in the shoulder a few times, saying 'bosh'tet' whenever he teased her about it). Then there was the fact she was a pouncer, always taking the opportunity to pounce into a make-out session and later sex. This was a fact that Tali wasn't so embarrassed about, only flirting with him about it whenever he brought it up.

However, he couldn't be more thankful for her. The sex was great but it was her personality that got him the most. Her sense of loyalty, her sense of honor, and her sense of courage. She had been with him when she was but a humble youngling on her pilgrimage, joining him on his quest to stop Saren and Sovereign. She was with him when he was a member of Cerberus, an organization that had a deep and brutal history with the quarians, and was there to stop the collectors with him, even going into the tubes to unlock the doors. He especially remembered that time as that was when they had officially began their relationship. She was loyal to him even after bringing an active Geth aboard and had realized the potential for peace with the Geth one day. She was loyal to him after he had no choice but to destroy the Bahak system. Then, she refused to leave him up until a few weeks before the Reapers invaded when he was placed under arrest for ties to Cerberus and his actions in the Bahak system. He remembered what she had told the parliament verbatim every day after.

"_I don't give a rat's ass if you believe his actions were unjust! Yes, 500,000 people died in the Bahak System but it was to save you all! It was to give all of you more time to prepare! We fought the damn collectors, we fought sovereign, and what do you and the council do? Sit on your asses and twiddle your thumbs because you believe that the Reapers are fictional. Guess what, you Bosh'tets? They are real and they are coming. Shepard delayed them! He's trying to save you and you're arresting him when you should be thanking him! Taking his advice. Admiral Hackett and Captain Anderson understand this, so why don't you?! But, even after this little speech of mine, you will still arrest him, then you better have some Dextro food in prison and be ready to house two prisoners because I will refuse to leave his side. What he needs now more than ever is loyalty and if his own people can't give it to him, then I will!_"

The entire systems alliance parliament had been stunned at that. After all, she was a Quarian. How dare she speak out like that? In their eyes, she was nothing more than a meaningless suit-rat. But to Shepard, she meant so much more. After her speech, she had been allowed to stay with Shepard as a "Person of Interest", most likely due to Anderson and Hackett pulling a few strings to make it happen. When he asked where this new blast of confidence had come from, she had replied "_You shouted at the Admiralty board for me and convinced them. I decided to do the same for you._" Then, a few weeks before the Reapers invaded, she was called back to the fleet for some important business regarding the admirals. She was stubborn, not leaving the first two days, instead staying by his side, always saying "_Screw them! I have someone else to be loyal to right now. You need me more than anyone else, Shepard._" though he could tell that saying that hurt her deeply at the time. To Quarians, the fleet was the most important thing and to say it wasn't important was like leaving your family and condemning them to hell.

On the third day, he had asked why she was saying and what she had said had saddened him. "_I can't leave you, Shepard. Not now. Not when you have everyone against. Not with you in here._" He remembered what he told her.

"_Go back to the fleet, Tali. They need you._"

"_You need me more!_"

"_Go, Tali. That's an order._" After he said that, she realized he wasn't going to argue and left after sharing one last kiss. For the first time he years, on that night, he cried. It was soft crying but it was crying nonetheless.

Months later, she had joined him one final time, first to liberate Rannoch, and then to help him in his quest to liberate Earth. "_After all,_" She had said once. "_I wouldn't have you if not for your homeworld._" She left behind a new life on Rannoch and her position as an Admiral just to help him in his time of need. Her intense loyalty was endearing and it convinced him that she was the only one for him. He had swore to himself that he would never leave her. Not willingly, not without knowing that her loyalty had been fully repaid.

Then, there was the 2 years following the war where had constant nightmares of the Reapers and those that were lost. Every night, even in the hospital, Tali was there, by his side, soothing him every time he had awoken from a nightmare and making sure he not only relaxed properly but got the care he needed.

All this was what made Tali perfect to Shepard.

And Shepard was happy with it that way.

He looked down to see her nose scrunching up cutely as she dreamed and let out a rather loud snore. '_What did I do to ever deserve an angel like you, Tali?_' He thought lovingly as he kissed her nose, causing her to snort in her sleep. It was cute how she did little things like that and Shepard loved every bit of it. As he laid his head back on his pillow to fall asleep, holding his Quarian wife close to him, a sudden pinging sounded.

'_Ping! Ping! Ping!_'

Shepard gave a groan. It was the Quantum Entanglement Communication device in the room behind his and Tali's bed. Someone, for whatever reason, was calling late into the night on Rannoch. He looked at the clock and saw that it read 4:15 AM. He sighed softly. Might as well get dressed and answer the call. Slowly and carefully, he uncurled himself from his wife, slipping his trapped arm out from under her, her only reaction being a slight murmur. Then, he got on his briefs, followed by his pants and his shirt before walking into the QEC room, closing the door behind him to not awaken Tali, and turned on the light before walking over to answer the call. '_I swear to god, Garrus,_' He began his thought, though it would stand for any member of the Normandy. '_If it's you asking about how many Shepards will be going around, I will murder you the next time we meet._' He looked down at the receiver and saw it wasn't, in fact, Garrus, nor was it from anyone that was on the Normandy at any point of time. Instead, it was from Scott, the capital of the human colony Terra Nova, which he had saved in 2183 from a Batarian terrorist action. "That's odd." He whispered to himself. "Who could be calling from there?" He pressed the answer button and was instantly greeted to a man with brown hair and a brown mustache. The man looked mediterranean in Ethnicity and had soft green eyes that looked very pleasant. He was also in a standard Alliance uniform suit and in one of his hands was what looked to be a blunt. He raised a curious eyebrow at the man. Hadn't he already told the Alliance that he was done with the military.

"Hello Shepard." The man began, revealing his voice to have a greek accent. "It's nice to finally meet you, even if its not face to face. My name is Humphrey Tyre, but please, call me Humphrey." He said in a friendly tone of voice, something Shepard wasn't convinced about. Someone had already done that to him once. That man was the monster known as the Illusive Man, AKA, Jack Harper. Harper had done irreparable harm to many and nearly cost the Galaxy due to his obsession at controlling the Reapers. Luckily, not much remained of Cerberus these days. But who was to say this wasn't a Cerberus agent looking to restore his organization with the help of Shepard.

"Charmed." He replied callously. "Do you understand what time it is here on Rannoch?"

"Yes, yes, I know it's quite early in Rannoch's morning and I know you were probably cuddling with your wife. By the way, congratulations on the child. May they be healthy from their birth onwards." The man raised his blunt and breathed in as Shepard raised his eyebrow curiously. How did he know about Tali's pregnancy?

"Thanks." His tone was cautious as he continued. "Excuse my coldness, but you remind me of a certain somebody that I hated." He leaned sideways. The man looked calm and nodded politely.

"I understand your current coldness to myself, but I assure you, John, I am nothing like the Illusive Man. In fact," He paused looking to his side and Shepard had to shake his head at what he saw next. He saw a quarian female walk up to the man and kiss him on the cheek. "I'm his polar opposite." He continued before nodding to the quarian. "Sheppard, meet my wife, Loni'Tyre. Lo, meet Commander John Fitzgerald Shepard, savior of the Galaxy thrice over." The quarian, now known as Loni'Tyre, nodded to Shepard.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Shepard. I've heard of all that you've done during the Reaper War and I'm very grateful for bringing peace between us and the Geth. Who knows what would've happened if you didn't." She said and he raised his eyebrow in surprise to the Quarian.

"Thanks. Anyway, why are you calling, Humphrey?" Humphrey smoked from his blunt again and nodded to his wife to leave them once Shepard's question was asked.

"Shepard, I'll be honest with you. For the last few weeks, trade ships have been disappearing in the traverse." He said somberly. Shepard shook his head at that somberly. It was sad to hear but it was probably pirates doing some raiding. Nothing major.

"Thanks for being honest with me, but it's probably pirates. God knows how many of those are in the Traverse." The man nodded, though Shepard could, just from his eyes, that it wasn't what he was thinking.

"You and the council both, Shepard. However, 2 days ago, an entire Turian fleet was destroyed."

'_An entire fleet?!_' His shocked thought was almost blurted. A turian fleet at that? Pirates were in no way able to destroy an entire turian fleet. Destroy and damage a few ships, yes, but never entirely destroy it. "Any survivors?" He already knew the answer.

"We sent a probe to the Pamyat system, were the destruction of the fleet took place. No survivors. Here, take a look for yourself." Humphrey shook his head somberly before showing a video on screen of a space graveyard. It was with a sudden shock that he realized that turians were floating in the debris and the wreckage of several escape pods having been blasted or torn open. To leave no survivors like that...it wasn't just barbaric, it was sending a message. As the recording ended, Shepard stared back at Humphrey Tyre, his eyes now showing fierce emotion, emotion he hoped to use against whoever did this.

"Who did this?!" The demand was a simple one but he almost yelled it. He heard Tali snort from the bedroom but then all fell silent once more. Humphrey gave him a steely gaze in response.

"I don't have a clue. In fact, no one in the Terminus Systems, Council, Systems Alliance, or even my Organization, Hydra, knows. Our probe only picked up this recording." Humphrey pressed a few keys on his Omni-tool and a recording sounded.

"_I'ck ourt naj gulop! Yakoi fu zas wa haj! Inviola terinus!_" The voice spoke in an alien tongue, the voice deep, menacing, and cruel. He shuddered from the voice. Just hearing it caused him to think of the monster that owned it. He looked to Humphrey and both had a look of determination.

"We believe that this is a warning, Shepard. Something is coming. Something possibly far worse than those damn Reapers that you wiped out 6 years ago. We need your help." Just as Shepard began to state he was in the fight no matter what, Humphrey raised his hand. "Before you say you're down, you need to discuss this with your wife. I won't blame you if you decide to sit this one out, Shepard. This entire galaxy owes everything to you and you deserve a goddamn peaceful retirement. Your wife deserves such a thing too." He was right...Tali was a wife. She deserved to have a say in this. "We helped her in her cancer treatment. Hell, we did everything for it and made sure there was no chance in goddamn hell that it would come back! We need no thanks Shepard. Just wanted you to know that." He then pressed in his omni-tool and Shepard heard his own ping in the bedroom. Humphrey had softened his steely gaze. "I sent you my information. Once you have her statements, please tell us. If you sit this one out, no one will blame you. If you join up, the coordinates to meet with me have been sent. Just know that General Vakarian, Dr. T-soni, and Flight Chief Moreau are all onboard for this. Colonel Vega and Commander Alenko have yet to reply to us, as well as Instructor Javik. Hope to hear from you soon. Goodbye, Shepard."

And with that, the communication ended and Shepard was left alone in the room, deep in thoughts. Hydra had helped his wife with her cancer? That was awfully generous of them...too generous. He felt like it was a trap. Humphrey just felt too much like the Illusive Man.

But, the Galaxy needed his help.

'_Tali needs me more!_'

He had swore off serving in any combat situations after a few years of being a guard of a private company once Tali had recovered from her cancer. It was a well paying job but he couldn't imagine the strain on Tali fearing that he might be killed by some crazy terrorist or activist. '_I can't forget my promise._' He looked to her as he entered the bedroom, thankful she was asleep, though she was in a fetal position and clearly shivering quite a bit. He knew that, even in sleep, she knew when he wasn't in bed with her. It made his stomach clench with guilt. He took off his shirt and pants and snuggled up to her once more in bed, giving her a brief kiss on the lips that made the quarian smile happily and giggle in her sleep. He brought her closer to him and rubbed the back of her head lovingly. '_Tomorrow,_' He promised her, '_tomorrow we'll discuss this. Together. As a team._'


End file.
